


After the Mystery

by Silvex



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2018-09-07 04:54:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8783962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silvex/pseuds/Silvex
Summary: Wishes aren't granted often, especially not large scale ones. That's a bad thing for Katt, as Gardevoir conveniently forgot that she'd need her memories back. Human again, she struggles to find her place in a world she know longer knows as her own, while the marks of her experiences keep on showing.Meanwhile, in the Pokemon world, Charlie comes to terms with a world where he is leader, and his closest friend is gone. Sandra watches one of the two she saved decline, and wishes desperately for a way to help. And Gengar decides to turn his life around, setting off a chain reaction that will change the whole world, for better or for worse.





	1. Chapter 1

She woke up in a forest, with no clue where she was. Again. Fate just seemed to have it out for her. Reaching back, she tried to remember where she was, but no such luck. When her memories had been taken, she’d never thought to remind Gardevoir that she might need them back later.

Picking herself up, she mumbled, under her breath, everything that she knew about herself.

“I am Katalina Gatoumo. I am fourteen years old. I am- I was a Skitty with the Ability Cute Charm. I am- I was leader of a Rescue Team. My friends call me- called me Katt. I am human.” She paused for a moment, letting that last one sink in.

She took some of her hair and pulled it around her face. Brown. She felt disappointed, but also wondered why she had expected it to be pink. She wasn’t a Pokemon anymore.

For a moment, she thought about her situation. Her clothes were in tatters, she was hungry, and her only hope was to find wherever she had snuck away from to end up in this situation in the first place. Wherever that was.

Taking a step forward, she noticed the feel of something underfoot. A small badge, white and gold, sat in the dirt. She picked it up, wiping it off on her shirt.

“How did this get here?” She wondered. Carefully pinning her Rescue Badge to her shirt, she set off in a random direction. She’d find her way home, and think about everything later.

Wherever home was.

* * *

  
  


“Just standing around wishing for it isn’t going to bring her back,” The Absol stated as the crowd dispersed. “Come on, Charlie. You should go home, it’ll start raining in fifteen minutes.”

“Just… just a bit longer, Sandra,” The Charmander replied, the Toolbox he carried feeling unusually heavy, despite being nearly empty. No money, no food, just sticks and a scarf.

“Charlie, Katt’s not coming back.” Sandra’s eyes were gentle, trying to get him to leave. “THere’s no point in pretending, and it’s going to rain soon.”

“You know this?”

“I sense disasters. A sudden storm qualifies.” He wouldn’t mind the rain. It would be uncomfortable, but it wasn’t entirely unsurvivable. Difficult, but he could continue.

Still, there would be work to do in the morning. He wouldn’t be doing himself any favors if he made himself sick. Katt would have never allowed it. And now there was even more reason to stay in good condition. With Katt gone, Charlie was the leader of their team. He was now responsible for getting all of their jobs done, and figuring out which Pokemon were in most desperate need of help.

He turned away from their base, trying to put the image of the young Skitty he’d found in the woods out of his mind. He tried to make himself forget the little Pokemon that had insisted that she was human. He couldn’t.

He wouldn’t have forgiven himself if he had, either. Katt had been the one who led the team, made them as powerful as they had become. Her planning was what had gotten the team to Gold Rank and allowed them to fight five Legendary Pokemon. She had been his closest friend, and they had stuck together no matter what.

Compared to Katt, Charlie would never be able to lead the team so well. He froze up when important decisions had to be made, while she had a resolve that simple could not be broken. She had been a born leader.

He’d just have to make a shot at it.

* * *

  
  


“Katalina Gatoumo…” The officer tapped away at her computer. “It says here that you’ve been missing for eight months. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Eight months. Had it really been that long? It felt like just a month ago, she had started the Rescue Team alongside her new friend, Charlie. The days had just flown by.

“I… I don’t remember,” She lied. She couldn’t say that she had been in another world. She couldn’t say that she had spent those eight months as a Pokemon. And it was somewhat true. She didn’t know who she was anymore. The identity that she had built up for herself revolved around her being a Pokemon. Suddenly being human again, it left her with a gaping void that her life had used to fill.

A sigh. “Why can’t I ever get the easy cases? Like a runaway who wanted to start an early journey, that I can do. What is the last thing you remember before…”

“I was… with some close friends.” She referred to the Hill of the Ancients, and what had happened there. “There was a Gardevoir, and she told me it was time to go. That’s when I found myself in Petalburg Woods.” So she’d cut it a bit short. She wasn’t sure how much farther she could go and still have her story be plausible. She also wasn’t that comfortable speaking out loud.

She was still getting used to her new voice, to the strange syllables that fell from her tongue so easily. To a language that she knew, but was unfamiliar with, and uncomfortable.

“You need to give us a bit more to go on, kid.” Kid. That’s what she was to them. Just a kid. And however much ‘kid’ sounded ever so slightly like ‘Skitty’, it just wasn’t the same.

“That’s all I remember.” She shrugged, hoping beyond all belief that she would be believed, that she wouldn’t be asked to provide her memories to a Psychic for analysis. There wouldn’t be any memories to give.

“Well, I’ll contact your guardians, and see if they can pick you up. Be sure to tell anyone if you remember anything, and we’ll look into that Gardevoir you mentioned.” Not that they would find anything, but Katt didn’t mention that. She wouldn’t tell anyone anything, either. There was nothing to remember.

No matter how much she wished there was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A note about these characters is that they have names made to fit. Katalina Gatoumo is made with two words for cat, along with her nickname, Katt. Charlie has the first four letters from Charmander, and Sandra comes from shortening Cassandra, which given her species, is rather fitting.  
> This is what could reasonably happen, given that the main character never does get their memories back. We have no clue what their life was like prior to the game, and neither do they. This... will backfire on Katt. Horribly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katt returns to a home she doesn't remember, and a life she'd long left behind. Her mother worries.  
> Meanwhile, Gengar dissolves his team, and decides to try fixing his mistakes- starting from the very first one.

It was her mother that came to pick her up, supposedly. She wouldn’t really know, just going with what the officer told her.

“Katalina, there you are! Do you know how worried I’ve been!?” No, she didn’t. She didn’t know this woman, didn’t know anyone. “What happened to you?”

She shrugged. “I don’t remember.” She wondered how often she’d have to say that, and how long it would take her to need to clarify it. How many times would people ask the same question?

Her mother sighed. “I suppose it doesn’t matter. We should get you home. Eight months away… you’ll probably have to clear up some dust from your room, but it’s still livable. Just the way you left it.”

But how had she left it? “It is?”

“Yes, they did say to give up after the first few months, but nobody touched your room. It’ll do you some good to be someplace familiar.”

“I’m sure it will.” She knew it wouldn’t. It wasn’t going to be a familiar place, no matter how long she had spent there before. It wasn’t a place she knew anymore. To her, home was a small house at the edge of a town, shaped like a Skitty head.

The house she was taken to was in a small town called Oldale. It was a nice enough place, with flowers growing on either side of the porch and in a few boxes under the windows. She didn’t recognize it.

The bedroom she was shown to was also nice, she supposed. There was soft blue paint on the walls, and a bed covered in blankets, with a desk and a dresser. It was all covered in a thick layer of dust. She didn’t recognize it, either. The only thing in the world that she recognized was the tiny object pinned to her shirt.

Carefully unpinning it, she placed the badge on her desk, to wear later. Now, she was alone, in a place she didn’t know. Sitting on the bed, she quietly mourned the life she had built before.

* * *

  
  


_ Psychosurfer: Well, I have a new job. _

_ PayDay: This is gonna be good. _

_ Psychosurfer: Shut up. There’s this girl who’s been acting different. _

_ Megashroom: And you felt the need to tell us? _

_ Psychosurfer: She showed up after being missing for 8 months. _

_ Acornhat: Talk about deja-vu. Weren’t some of us gone for that long? _

_ Saviourmink: I was gone for a whole year. _

_ Baconblaze: And speaking as someone who only lasted a week… _

_ PayDay: Fighting is weak to Psychic. We’ve covered this. _

_ Psychosurfer: Apparently, she doesn’t remember what happened. _

_ Megashroom: And they want a Psychic to help? _

_ Psychosurfer: Her mother just wants to know what’s wrong with her. _

_ Acornhat: Don’t you make a point of not intruding on others’ minds? _

_ Psychosurfer: It promises to pay well. I still need to make up those missed payments. _

_ Baconblaze: That’s right, you lost 6 months… _

_ Psychosurfer: 5 years, and I’m only just recovering, financially. _

_ PayDay: I’d hate to see how this kid’s education is going. _

_ Psychosurfer: Well, she’s old enough to travel, so it won’t be as big a deal. _

_ Saviourmink: You know, not everyone chooses to go on a journey. _

_ Baconblaze: True. How many of us have Pokemon, again? _

_ Saviourmink: Solosis, Morelull, Vulpix, Goldeen, Eevee, and Bayleef have all mentioned it. _

_ PayDay: I still can’t believe you can remember all 85 of us. _

_ Saviourmink: Practice. Are you going to take the job, Raichu? _

_ Psychosurfer: Yeah. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be telling you guys. _

_ Megashroom: Wouldn’t it be funny? If, you know, she was actually like us? _

_ Saviourmink: It’d also be pretty sad. They already have a hero. _

* * *

  
  


“Grass Continent? You’re going there?”

“Why not?” Medicham shrugged. “I’m sure I could find something to do there. You did say we should try to live honest lives.” He knew that. And it would be nice to get a fresh start. Windy Continent seemed pretty appealing at times.

Still, it didn’t feel right to leave Sandy Continent just yet. There was something he had to do, part of his future. Maybe that future didn’t involve Medicham. It would be strange, without a Psychic in his life.

“I guess… but… I was kind of hoping you could help me.” Why was it so hard? He’d first been alive to see Artemis and Mew defeat Dark Matter, and that hadn’t been as utterly terrifying as this.

It was funny. He and Ralts had watched the potential apocalypse together without any hint of fear, but facing his mistakes was impossible. He couldn’t say what he’d been meaning to. There was a prickling feeling on the edge of his mind. “Reading someone’s thoughts is not living an honest life,” he grumbled out.

“Like I’d do it to strangers. I have more class than that.” That was true. It had been her one condition, when recruited. She wouldn’t use most of her powers against their victims, because while taking their belongings was fair game, their thoughts were their own. Most Psychics felt that way. He had never expected her to be any different. “I’d love to help you with that, but I can’t, really.”

“Why can’t you?”

“Because it’s your problem, really.” He’d been afraid of that. “And I can’t be bothered.” The answer he’d actually expected. “Good luck, Garret.”

“Where. Did. You. Get. That. Name?” He ground out. He hadn’t thought of his human name in years. Not since he was a Gastly who only survived because Kecleon couldn’t go through walls.

“You want to help her, and those reasons are tied into those memories. Don’t worry. I didn’t look too closely. Anyway, the Lapras leaves in fifteen minutes, I should go.” She ran off, and Gengar pushed his worries away. She wouldn’t tell anyone. Even if she did, she would be on a different continent from him.

He decided that the best thing to do would be to prepare for the journey up the mountain. He hadn’t been there in a long time, but if the name hadn’t yet changed, it was probably still freezing.

No badge, no Toolbox… perhaps he should have waited to disband his team, given that he didn’t want to post a request…

He’d climbed the mountain with just one Pokemon before. He was sure it would be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For context, Gates to Infinity's epilogue concluded four years before the story, with the team saving everything being a Minccino and Torchic. Yes, it's not a canonically available team. No, I don't care. The story starts six years before Explorers, and thirteen years before Super.  
> Ninetales wasn't yet hatched when Dark Matter was defeated, meeting Gengar and Gardevoir about fifteen years afterwards. Gengar has, in fact, met the Super Mystery Dungeon character, enough times to know her name.  
> Hydreigon may have been exaggerating the effects of having a human in the Pokemon world, but nobody's really taking the risk. The world can support Artemis Smith and Garret Spectre. It might not be able to support anyone else.  
> And the reason nobody thought to go to Minccino is that she lives on another continent.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayla wasn't expecting her client's mind to be like this. Katt can't really cope with it.  
> Her mother tries, really.

“It’s good to meet you, miss…”

“Rayla is fine, ma’am.” The young woman forced a smile, blue eyes glinting, as she brushed faint red hair out of her eyes. “Where is she?”

“In her room. She doesn’t often leave it, although I know she lets bird Pokemon in sometimes.” Rayla nodded at this, climbing the stairs, and opening the first door on the left.

The girl inside wore purple and green, except for one object. A small white and gold pin was in a rather prominent spot on her shirt, polished in such a way that showed the girl’s pride in her belonging.

“Hello. You must be Katalina. I’m Rayla Skyler. Your mother hired me to see how you’re doing.”

Katalina paused for a moment, before finally nodding. “That’s me. You’re a human Psychic, right? I’ve never met one before.”

“That’s not a surprise. There aren’t many around.” Rayla leaned back, studying the girl before her. “My methods are… somewhat different from most human Psychics, however.” She didn’t use those techniques. Her normal powers were good enough for her. “I use a method that’s a little more… personal.”

Katalina sighed, closing her eyes. “What do you want to do?”

“I will connect my mind to yours, and bring you to your… happy place, I guess you’d call it. We’ll talk there, where nobody but another Psychic can listen it, and where you’re most comfortable.” The girl was on edge, wincing back. Fear resonated from her, to the point that Rayla didn’t even need powers to see it. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to-”

“No. It’s fine.” She smiled, although Rayla could tell that it was probably fake. “You want to see what my mind’s hiding, right? I’m somewhat interested in that myself.”

Coming to an agreement, Rayla called forth her power, allotting a safe spot in the girl’s mind to have a conversation. The shape it would take was decided by the girl.

It would also leave her speechless.

  
  


The first thing Katt became aware of was the familiar feeling of her tail wrapping around her paws. A tail that she didn’t have anymore, paws she no longer possessed. Ears perked up, senses stronger than they should be, although there was nothing to sense. And then there was.

She knew that it wasn’t real, that it was just her mind, but at the same time… she was home. There was her little nest, indented in her favorite spot. There were the windows, letting in warm light that pooled on the floor. The map, detailed as ever, and the table, complete with buckets of water and a bowl of fresh apples. There were even the indents in the ceiling that marked the point where the ears of the house began.

The woman who had come to see her was there as well, taking a look around the house. “I… this is… what is this place?”

“It’s my home. The only one I remember.” There wasn’t any point in dishonesty. Psychics never liked being lied to, and Rayla Skyler was highly unlikely to be an exception.

Rayla sat down suddenly, and in her place was an orange rodent Pokemon with the same blue eyes. “Shroomish was right,” The Raichu said in amazement. “You really are like us.”

“Like… like you?” She had expected the woman to be left speechless. That was basically a matter of course she assumed, if anything would ever decide to read her mind.

“A human that spent time in the Pokemon world.” Katt stepped back a bit, letting the implications of what she had just been told sink in.

“There are others?”

“Well, we all left about five years ago, give or take a bit. Minccino still goes back from time to time, apparently has responsibilities or something. But, yeah, there’s a lot of us.” Her ears twitched. “Somewhere between eighty and ninety, I can never remember the exact number. We have a chat group, even. I actually think Seedot and Shroomish live around here somewhere,” she mused, “But I don’t talk with them much. I have a job, and Seedot has school, and I’m not entirely sure what Shroomish does.”

“How… how are there so many of you? And, more importantly, when the world was about to be destroyed by a meteor, why did I get picked, and not any of you? I don’t remember anything before I became a Skitty, but I don’t think I should have been the first pick, especially compared to someone fully evolved!” She was almost crying, questioning just about everything about her existence. She’d been doing that a lot, recently.

She’d woken up with nothing twice, and there were others that could have taken that burden, actual adults, evolved Pokemon, one that apparently still spent time in the Pokemon world. Just under a hundred of them.

“I don’t know that. But, clearly, you managed to stop that… meteor, was it? From doing any major damage. That’s something to be proud of, Katalina.”

“...Katt.”

“Huh?”

“Call me… call me Katt. Everyone does. Well, did.” She tried to smile, although if there weren’t someone else there, she would likely have been sobbing into her tail.

Rayla sighed. “Why do I always get the hard ones? Look… Katt, I understand that it must be difficult. But, well…” Something flashed into her mind. “The chat group access. I’ll explain everything to Minccino, and we’ll get it up and running. Also… there’s another possibility, but I’ll let someone else tell you.”

And then they were gone, human again. And Katt’s heart was a little more broken… but with more room for repairs.

  
  


_ Psychosurfer: So, Shroomish, you remember that thing you said? About my new job? _

_ Megashroom: You mean how it’d be funny if she was like us? _

_ Psychosurfer: Yeah, that. Well, it turns out… _

_ Saviourmink: We were joking, weren’t we? Why was she even…? _

_ Psychosurfer: Apparently, possible meteor strike. I’m going to get her set up on here, if that’s ok with you. _

_ Saviourmink: Well, this is a chat group for human Pokemon. What species is she? _

_ Psychosurfer: She’s a Skitty. I’m also going to recommend to her family that she starts travelling. _

_ Evobooster: It’d be nice to have another trainer to talk to. Solosis and Goldeen are kind of… _

_ Megashroom: Jerks? _

_ Evobooster: That’s the nice way to put it, yes. _

_ Saviourmink: Can’t you all get along? _

_ Psychosurfer: There’s 85 of us- 86 if you count Skitty. There’s no way for us all to get along. _

_ Saviourmink: ...You could try, you know. _

  
  


“Mrs. Gatoumo, there… doesn’t seem to be much of anything wrong with her mentally.”

“But she’s so different!”

“People change. During the time she was gone, I think she lost sight of herself, and I doubt staying around here is going to help. With today’s technology, it’s not like losing touch is an issue.”

“...What are you saying?”

“I think your daughter needs to become a Pokemon trainer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Katt's mental self is a Skitty because that's all she can really remember being. Similarly, her mind takes the shape of the base because it's 'home' for her more than anything.  
> Also, there will be multiple canon characters squeezed into the chat group, for reasons involving desperation. Michael, Trudly, and Folly, for example, were all part of Hydreigon's group. Others might show up in Katt's travels.  
> Also, Minccino's kind of miffed about missing out of the meteor thing, but she'll never show it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Possible options are discussed for Katt's future, naturally without her input. The one who saved the Pokemon world several years ago gets a bit mad. And Gengar is prepared to go on a long journey.

“A journey? For Katalina?” Rayla expected opposition. She certainly got it. “She’s only just come back after being missing for over half of a year! I can’t even consult my husband about it because he works in Slateport and is lucky if he can come home every other week!”

Every person had their own attitude when it came to this kind of thing. Just the psychic’s luck to have gotten one of these.

“Her time away did something to her. She no longer feels like she belongs here.”

“This is her home. If she doesn’t belong here, where does she belong?” She couldn’t answer that one. Not really, not without questions, and revelations to where eighty-five humans from around the globe had disappeared to just under six years previous.

It brought up something she’d been wondering, as well. In the chat group, they all referred to each other by species, and she could envision her Raichu form as well as she could her human one. She hadn’t been psychic before the deal with the Bittercold, but she was now rather proficient with her acquired powers.

Something about being in that other world had changed all of them permanently, for better or for worse. It was the reason so few of them had chosen to become Pokemon Trainers, unable to imagine giving orders to those that they had lived amongst as equals. Some of them even used their newfound ability to communicate with Pokemon to earn money, although those were just as few.

None of them had really thought about it before, preferring to just get back to living their lives, with a few minor details changed around a bit. Maybe they should have, before she was presented with a broken girl whose changes were more noticeable because they made up just about all of who she was.

“That’s what she needs to find out.”

* * *

  
  


_ Starfall: ...This was not what I expected would happen a week ago. _

_ Psychosurfer: I don’t think any of us could have expected this. _

_ Saviourmink: So, Skitty, right? How are you holding up? _

_ Starfall: That’s a stupid question. _

_ Evobooster: Look, be a bit more sensitive about the new mon, ok? _

_ Saviourmink: Sorry, but I’m in a bit of a rush. Going to chew out Hydreigon. _

_ Acornhat: ...Only Minccino could get away with that. _

_ Starfall: Why? _

_ Evobooster: Hydreigon’s basically the Pokemon world’s will to live. _

_ Starfall: ...And she yells at him? _

_ Acornhat: I couldn’t believe it either. _

* * *

  
  


“Hydreigon!” A very angry Macy Noble marched through the Pokemon Paradise, which would have looked intimidating had she not been in the body of a Minccino. “What’s this about a meteor?”

It was always interesting for the residents of Paradise to see the hydra that embodied the survival of their world cowering before the righteous fury of a small mink, even if they had known her to smack Legendaries into submission before.

“Macy, calm down,” Hidori pleaded, her eyes wide with fear. Just because they were best friends didn’t mean that the Torchic wasn’t terrified of her. Everyone knew to fear the one who had completely obliterated the physical embodiment of despair.

“No, Hidori, I will not calm down. Recently, I heard of this world nearly falling victim to a great disaster, and I was not alerted until it was all over. Care to explain this, Hydreigon?”

“I… We didn’t think you needed to know?”

“Excuse me, what!? I live here half of the time! If it weren’t for the chat group, I wouldn’t even know about it at all! Why would I not need to know about a giant rock on a collision course with our planet!?” She was gesturing wildly now. All of the other Pokemon in the area turned and left in tandem, leaving just Macy, Hydreigon, and the shaking in utter terror but still ever loyal Hidori.

“We had it covered-”

“How!? How did you have it covered!? A Skitty!? An amnesiac Skitty!? Right now, in the human world, there is a girl completely cut off from everything that she knows because you couldn’t be bothered to ask someone who’s already involved!” She didn’t know what she was more mad about. Missing out on an adventure, or the one who had been left so broken her mother had hired Raichu to figure it out.

It shamed her that, perhaps, she was leaning closer to the former.

* * *

  
  


On a different continent entirely, the other human in that world was adjusting his map. It had been quite some time since he’d actually had to travel that far. In the later days of Team Meanies, they had mostly taken jobs closer to home. More time to scheme, that way.

He didn’t know why he bothered. He could find his way back to that mountain in his sleep, if he had to. It was getting up it that was the real problem.

He’d left early, made sure not to tell anybody where he was going. He passed by the Skitty house, looking so depressingly empty with its owner gone, most likely forever. A pang of jealousy. Why did she get to go back when he couldn’t? He had searched for a way home for his entire human lifetime, and the one who didn’t even ask for one got it handed right to her.

He was considering what the best route to take would be when he encountered the Smeargle by the road. He recognized him, one of Katt’s friends, although he couldn’t remember his name. Most of their names tended to slip him by.

“It’s you?” The Smeargle seemed dispassionate, uninterested. “Would you mind going a different way? I’m painting this landscape.” He had noticed the canvas. He shook his head, moving towards a different path. The direct but painfully slow route it was, then. At least the other paths had some sort of action along them.

“Say, where are you going?” The Smeargle asked.

“Mount Freeze.”

“You should be careful up there. It’s almost winter, and that place can induce frostbite in midsummer.” He was well aware.

“Thanks for the warning.” He had never thought he’d have a civil conversation with one of Katt’s friends ever again, since the incident. “But I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Blast Seeds still grew up there, right? He hadn’t been there in millennia, so he couldn’t be sure, but it would be fine.

He wasn’t coming back to the town until he’d made it to the summit. That he had decided on himself.

It was time for his most difficult journey to begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Macy isn't always a subject of terror. However, word has spread of her accomplishments, and when she's mad, they are right to fear her. Destroying the physical embodiment of despair is no small task, after all. This may have gone to her head a little.  
> Garret and Ralts, back then, fell into the Pokemon world by complete accident, and spent a long time trying to get back. Any problems he has with Katt now are mainly because she actually did get back. Jealousy, resentment, guilt, and all other sorts of stuff, bottled up in a way that cannot be healthy. If that's not emotional baggage, I don't know what is.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katt has adjusted, for the most part, to human life. However, things have been set in motion, and she makes a new friend in Chip the Poochyena.  
> Meanwhile, Charlie's leadership of the Rescue Team is going about as well as it could, given the circumstances.

The Poochyena snarled as his paw caught on the garbage can. The Houndour next to him howled in laughter.

**“Sorry, but that’s just perfect. How did you fail so miserably?”**

**“Shut up!”** He snapped back.  **“It’s not as easy as you make it look, you know!”**

**“You know, you don’t have to live here. Petalburg City isn’t a kind place to wild Pokemon at the best of times.”**

**“And what do you call now? There’s nobody trying to take over the world, no Legendary Pokemon on a rampage… things are as good as they ever have been.”**

**“...If you want to get caught, there’s probably a better way to do it,”** The Houndour pointed out.

**“I don’t want to get caught! What makes you think that?”** He responded immediately, hoping that the other Dark Type couldn’t see through his lie. He never was good at it.  **“Besides, what Trainer wants a Pokemon with no interest in evolving?”**

**“Depends. What’s your Ability?”**

**“...Tangled Feet.”** In other words, nothing that would change after evolution.  **“And what does it matter? I told you, I don’t want a Trainer!”** He was pretty sure that his vehement denial was attracting the attention of the local Taillow, but they wouldn’t do anything.

**“If you say so, Chip.”**

* * *

  
  


_ Starfall: So, earlier, I was looking through some old newspapers when I noticed something. _

_ Evobooster: What is it? _

_ Starfall: Apparently, about ten months back, this planet was almost hit by a meteor. _

_ Spacey: So? That happens all the time. _

_ Starfall: It was avoided by some people from Devon shunting it into another dimension. _

_ Saviourmink: Eevee, you live in Orre, right? _

_ Evobooster: ...Why do you ask? _

_ Saviourmink: I’m going to sue a Hoenn company. I’m assuming you have a Flying Type so I can get there. _

_ Evobooster: When do I have to show up, and where? _

* * *

  
  


Katt had been back in the human world for just over a month, and had finally begun to get some handle on how to get by. That didn’t mean she wanted to be tested, of course, but somebody had to get groceries from Petalburg City, and there were a few things she wanted to pick up, as well.

She ignored the chattering of the Taillow in the trees. It was mostly about simple things, like who had the better movepool, or Ability. It was normal.

She wasn’t sure if her new definition of normal matched that of everyone else, but she supposed she didn’t want it to. For her, normal was the ability to speak Pokemon, a somewhat secret chat group, and bird Pokemon flying through her open window for food. No, she wasn’t normal, at least not by the human definition.

She wasn’t normal by Pokemon standards either, of course. She doubted she’d be considered normal by anyone’s standards, at this point. Not that she’d had that much chance to talk to anyone, not except for Rayla and her mother- sometimes her father, over video chat- and the bird Pokemon. There weren’t many standards she could compare herself to.

There was a crash in a nearby alley, and some raucous laughter that sounded like it belonged to a Houndour. Not Hoenn native, but given the propensity of some Trainers to release Pokemon in rather unfitting locations, that didn’t mean much of anything.

Curious, she decided to take a little peek, and found a Poochyena struggling under a trash bag.  **“Come on, Rascal, help me!”** The Houndour, who was standing to the side, covered his mouth with his paw to stifle his laughter.

**“But, Chip, you said you didn’t want help.”** They certainly didn’t seem dangerous. And Katt’s instincts refused to let her ignore a Pokemon who needed help.

“Can I help?” She asked, and the Houndour turned to her, only now registering her presence.

**“Sorry, Chip, but you’re on your own,”** He decided, running down the street.  **“I don’t feel like dealing with humans right now.”**

Katt watched the Houndour go, and tried to ignore the pang of heartbreak she felt at his words. They saw her as human. But they were right, weren’t they? She wasn’t a Skitty anymore, no matter how much she wished she was.

**“Rascal, get back here right this second, or I’ll…”** The Poochyena’s voice trailed off as he watched his friend bound away. By now, he likely was out of earshot. He struggled under the bag for a moment, before sighing.  **“...And he’s long gone. Figures he can’t be bothered to help.”**

**“I know people like that,”** Katt agreed, changing her language to match his own. The small Dark Type took a moment to look at her, really look at her.

**“...I’ve never heard of a human who could speak Skitty.”**

**“It’s a long story. Do you mind if I help you out?”**

**“Please do. Oh, my name’s Chip.”**

**“Call me Katt.”** She lifted the bag off of him with ease, a small part of her noting that she wouldn’t have been able to do so in her Pokemon body.  **“You’re lucky this isn’t very heavy. You could have been badly hurt, and I don’t have any berries with me right now. Not that you’re completely okay, or anything. That leg looks painful.”**

**“It is.”** Chip stood up and wobbled, rather off-balance. He tried to step forward, but fell over almost immediately.

**“I think you need medical attention,”** Katt decided, picking him up. He struggled, but she simply held on tighter.  **“Don’t worry. I’m just taking you to a Pokemon Center. They know more about this than I do, and I don’t think you can get anywhere on a bad leg.”**

* * *

  
  


“Mail call! Mail call!” Pelipper placed the letters and job requests in the Mailbox, as always. Even though nobody actually lived at the base anymore, they still got their mail delivered there. It was easier than trying to figure out which of them were going to be on duty on any given day, if they could just meet there and figure everything out later.

A few minutes later, four Pokemon walked down to the base. The Charmander, Magnemite, Absol, and Smeargle all came from the same direction, having met up just a few minutes before. Charlie pried the Mailbox open, and was swamped with mail.

“We checked this just yesterday!” Pastel pointed out in complete shock. “How are we this popular?”

“BZZT! WE DID SAVE THE WORLD, BZZ-ZZT!” MK-081 pointed out.

“I know that, but still…”

Sandra shook her head. “Well, let’s also point out the Gold Rank. And everything else. So, what job shall we take today?”

Charlie pawed through the mail before picking out a letter and looking at it. “This… this can’t be right. This is a request, and… why would Gengar send us a request to escort him to Ninetales on Mount Freeze?”

“Well, we won’t find out if we don’t take it,” Pastel shrugged. “It’s your call, leader.”

Charlie winced at being called leader, but said nothing of it. He remembered all of the trouble that the errant ghost had put him and Katt through.

...But Katt would have refused to withhold help from a Pokemon in need, no matter what.

“We’re taking the job.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Macy and Michael are apparently suing Devon now. Whether or not the courts hear them out will probably depend on whether or not they arrive on the Legendary Birds or Lugia.  
> Yes, I did give Magnemite its National Dex number as a proper name.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie's newest client was never the most agreeable Pokemon, so him acting nice is a surprise. He's not complaining, though, because the enemies on Mount Freeze are powerful enough without being distracted by endless arguments. His biggest problem is with the Magnemite.  
> Meanwhile, Katt promises Chip a treat, and the two of them become better friends on the way.  
> Both of them seem not to realize that tempting fate is a bad idea, though.

Mount Freeze was not a fun place to travel to at the best of times, given the temperatures, general obstacles, and horrible weather. Charlie’s first visit to the place had been under less than pleasant circumstances, of course, and he understood that there probably were Pokemon out there that enjoyed this kind of place. Ice Types, for example.

Now, being a Fire Type, most would call it even less reason to like the place. He’d brought Sandra and MK-081 on the job with him because Sandra had been to the mountain before, and MK-081 was better able to handle cold temperatures than Pastel, along with being more experienced.

That they both had moves able to handle Gengar of the off chance that it turned out to be a trap was entirely a coincidence, or so he told anyone who asked. Katt had picked what jobs to take, what the money would be spent on, and the battle strategies. Charlie had been in charge of making sure nothing went wrong with that.

Amongst other things, being used as a sounding board for some of her more ridiculous ideas had taught him that people could be irrational if they were nervous. This team configuration soothed his nerves, meaning he could think properly.

“I didn’t think you’d actually show up,” The Ghost Pokemon commented. “So, let’s get going, then.” No outright taunts, surprisingly enough.

“I WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST INFORMATION ON WHY YOU REQUESTED THIS MISSION, BZZ-ZZT!” MK-081 stated. Charlie winced at the grating monotone and remembered why they weren’t usually on the mission roster if there was a possible other option.

“I’ve just got… business with Ninetales. It really shouldn’t be put off for much longer… I’m late enough as it is.”

Charlie accepted the answer, figuring that he could get more detail as they went, or from Ninetales herself if he had to.

“Let’s go, then.”

* * *

  
  


Katt had no clue how to care for Pokemon as a Trainer. It was something she’d figured she’d never have to know. Pokemon medicine, especially, was beyond her, at least the way the humans did it.

“He should be just fine,” The Joy at the front desk assured her. “Though I’m interested in how you convinced a wild Pokemon to enter a human facility. Most times they refuse to go anywhere near the door.”

Katt was glad that the nurse hadn’t heard their conversation. Odds were she would have been much less impressed if she knew the former Skitty had bribed Chip with Poffins. She was good at making Poffins.

At least, the Taillow outside her window seemed to think so, and she was inclined to believe them, if only because she had a tendency to fill the batter with Pecha Berries, and those always tasted good.

Charlie had never liked her habit of eating the small pink berries, especially when she wasn’t even poisoned, but she was the fastest Pokemon in the Rescue Team, and the leader, so he couldn’t really do anything about it. She supposed that he was enjoying having actual access to them for once.

“His Houndour friend ran off as soon as I found them,” She replied, careful not to lapse back into Pokemon speak now that she had started actively using it again. “He seems a bit more concerned with having the ability to walk than mistrusting humans.”

“Ah, survival instinct at its finest… will you be staying until he recovers? It won’t be too long, we recently got an Audino in with Heal Pulse.”

Katt glanced at her bag of groceries. None of them were perishables, so she’d have the time. And she had promised him those Poffins.

“I think I will.”

* * *

  
  


“Froslass coming in behind you!” Sandra warned, and Charlie quickly turned around and hit the offending Ice Type with a Flame Burst.

“I didn’t know Froslass lived here,” He noted, while the Pokemon in question beat a hasty retreat, having noticed the Absol and Gengar in the room.

“What are you talking about?” Gengar asked. “There’ve always been Froslass here. Not many of them, Dawn Stones are obscenely rare, but they exist.”

“I HAVE BEEN ON MISSIONS HERE BEFORE, BZZT! THERE WERE NO POKEMON EVOLVED FROM DAWN STONES ON THIS MOUNTAIN, BZZ-ZZT!”

“I suppose she must have evolved recently,” Sandra observed. “Stone evolutions aren’t sealed off the way that normal ones are.” Which was true. Katt had talked about trying to find a Moon Stone for a long time, but they never did, at least not one within their price range.

Conversation about their most recent- and annoying, because she’d regained her courage at some point and come back, only to meet a Shadow Claw from Gengar- adversary for this mission came to a close when the group finally reached the relatively peaceful cave in the mountain that served as a sort of checkpoint, as it was exempt from normal Dungeon rules.

Sandra peered out to the cliff ledge that served as the reintroduction to Dungeon rules. “It’s gotten pretty dark out. Maybe coming here on the tail-end of autumn was a bad idea. It’ll also take a few days for the storm to clear.”

“You did pack food supplies, right?” Gengar asked. Charlie nodded. It was kind of strange, being on halfway decent terms with him, and even weirder for him to be following his orders, but that wasn’t a bad thing. It meant the mission was more likely to succeed, for one.

“We also have Aspear Berries to prevent frostbite.” He didn’t need them, and Sandra was debatable, but they were good to have on hand, and likely would be their meals for the next few days.

This new situation was a bit too strange, but he could live with it. It was only for a few days, after all.

 

* * *

 

**“You promised me pastries.”** Those were the first words that Chip said as soon as he was released. Katt took a look around to make sure nobody was listening before she responded.

**“That I did. I’ve got the stuff to make them at my house in Oldale Town, though I’m not sure what berries you like. I prefer sweet flavors, but you might not enjoy them as much.”**

**“If you can, I like spicy foods.”** She nodded.

**“I think we have some Pinap Berries somewhere.”** At least he wasn’t suggesting anything bitter. She was sure she’d attract some odd looks entering town with a Poochyena right behind her, but she didn’t really care what people thought.

**“Say, how can you speak Skitty, anyway?”** That question was enough to almost make her stop walking.

**“That- that’s personal. Let’s just say that something happened, and since then, I’ve been able to talk to Pokemon like I’m one of them.”** Because, at heart, she was one of them. But nobody would listen to that.

Chip looked up at her, his gaze betraying no emotion at all. Typical Dark Type behavior.  **“...You’re a really interesting human.”** Katt was proud to say that, if the last word made her flinch a bit, he never noticed.

She had no clue how to be a Pokemon Trainer. But something told her that, if her new friend had his way, she wouldn’t really have a choice but to learn.

Not that she had to be typical. It couldn’t be too different from leading a Rescue Team.

...Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One thing Charlie knows that a lot of protagonists don't is to ask for at least some details before the mission. He was always the common sense of the operation, and the book smarts, but that mostly works because he has the experience to back it up.  
> Katt prefers Poffins, instead of one of the other treats in the Pokemon world, because they're affordable, unlike Poke Puffs, large enough for a human to eat properly, unlike Pokeblocks, and are easily available in Hoenn, unlike Poke Beans.  
> In addition, her flavors of choice reflect the fact that, as a Rescue Team Skitty, she has a Naive nature. Her nature reflects certain other things as well, but they're less important at the moment.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Macy is prepared to leave for Hoenn as soon as possible. She just has to wait for Michael to show up. On a Legendary Pokemon. Because why not, right?  
> Katt and Chip are just trying to eat their Poffins. That they get an idea from it is entirely to be expected.

Castelia City Business Academy was one of the largest schools in the world that catered to those who didn’t plan on becoming Pokemon Trainers. There needed to be people who ran the Poke Marts, department stores, restaurants, and more scattered around the world, and it had long been accepted that the best place to learn how was in Unova.

Of course, the fact that there were a large number of people studying online instead of in person was part of the reason, similar to how the Lumiose School of Art got to second place three years earlier when the newest headmaster- one of Hydreigon’s group, a Ninetales- opened the doors to Pokemon students. But nobody ever said that.

Of course, large and impressive as it was, it was still a school. Complete with sleeping students. Her wavy blue-gray hair covered her eyes well enough, but she also had a teacher who actually paid attention to his students.

“Miss Noble, please come see me after class.” Macy just groaned. At age thirteen she had saved an entire world from destruction. Now she was limited to evenings and weekends and forced to learn math.

With any luck, she’d be able to distract him with the last bit of paperwork she needed to move into the online program. She’d been meaning to for some time- the subway fare from Nimbasa had increased again- but the amount of time she’d be spending in Hoenn provided a much better excuse.

* * *

  
  


Meanwhile, in Hoenn, Katt and Chip were sharing a batch of spicy-sweet Poffins when the door opened. “Katalina, I’m back! Did you get the groceries?”

“Of course I did!” She called back around a mouthful of Poffin. “I made Poffins!”

Her mother appeared in the kitchen. “So I see. And where did the Poochyena come from?”

“Petalburg. His name’s Chip, and he’s only here to eat Poffins.”

“But why are you eating Poffins?” Katt didn’t really know what to say in reply to that. It was becoming increasingly common, recently.

“...Because I like Poffins?” She suggested.

**“Definitely the strangest human I’ve ever met,”** Chip decided.

Her mother didn’t seem to have an intelligent response, simply turning and walking out of the kitchen.

“So, there’s little point in you walking back to Petalburg at this time of night, is there?” Katt asked. Chip gave the Poochyena equivalent of a shrug.

**“I’m still not sure I want to go back. I mean… my dream was always to see as much of the world as I could… don’t expect I’ll get past the forest, though.”**

“Yeah, it’s fun to go on adventures,” She agreed. “There’s a lot of interesting places out there, too. Volcanoes with a constant lava flow, frozen forests so still footprints last for months where Articuno nest, even towers made out of clouds…”

**“Have you been to any of these places?”**

“All of them. But I can’t go back right now. Even if I had a way of getting there… how would I convince anyone to let me leave? I’m not a Trainer.”

**“...Would you like to be?”** It did sound like the perfect solution, didn’t it? He could follow his dream, and she… she could escape from this small town, where people expected her to be someone who, for all purposes, didn’t exist.

“I… Maybe I would.”

* * *

  
  


Macy officially hated late autumn. Despite the fact that Castelia and Nimbasa were on opposite sides of a desert, they were equally chilly. Well, maybe Nimbasa was warmer, if only because there was less cold spray from the sea. Not that it mattered. Soon she would be on her way to nice, warm, subtropical Hoenn.

Which preferably. meant morning, because her contact was late due to air traffic and everyone knew that flying at night when it was already cold was anything but comfortable.

**“Coming in below!”** She heard a Moltres caw. She paused and thought about what that meant, before quickly moving out of the way of the landing Legendary Bird.

“I’d ask where you got her, but something tells me I don’t want to know.” The Trainer riding the Moltres just laughed.

“Yeah, it’s a long story. I call her Fern, short for Inferno.  **You’re Minccino, right?”** He finished, stumbling over a language he likely hadn’t actually spoken in for years.

She nodded. “Macy Noble, over here.  **And you’re Eevee.”** The words came more easily to her. She was actually in practice.

“That, or Michael Gale. I don’t really care which.”

**“We’re on the news back in Orre enough as it is,”** Fern agreed. **“Well, we could wait until morning to leave, but I heard him tell his sister that if we stop, the next one out will be Ava, and she’s an Articuno.”**

“Do you have a Zapdos, as well?” Macy couldn’t help but ask. Michael nodded.

“And a Lugia. Well?” It didn’t take her long to decide. Fern’s flames would light the way and keep them warm, while she was less willing to ride an Ice-Type when it was almost winter.

“Let’s go.”

* * *

  
  


_ Cellular: You know, Orre’s kinda boring without Eevee. _

_ Splashking: Yeah, tormenting him’s too much fun to give up. _

_ Megashroom: He would have left, when, this morning? _

_ Baconblaze: I’d be more concerned with them being themselves. _

_ Starfall: This is normal? _

_ Megashroom: Unfortunately. _

_ Baconblaze: You get used to it. _

_ Starfall: Okay… so… something important happened today. _

_ Cellular: So what? _

_ Starfall: I leave to become a Pokemon Trainer next week. _

_ Splashking: What kind? _

_ Starfall: I don’t know. It just sort of… happened, and now I have a Poochyena. _

_ Splashking: At least it’s better than that Lugia. _

_ Baconblaze: You know a Lugia? _

_ Cellular: Long story. _

* * *

  
  


If anyone in Petalburg City was surprised by the Moltres landing at two in the morning, nobody showed it. Mostly because they wrote it off as just an unusually strange dream. Macy almost collapsed off of Fern’s back, unused to riding bird Pokemon in her human form.

“We should probably head to the Pokemon Center. I’d at least like to get you looked at after flying this far,” Michael decided, returning his Pokemon.

“Don’t wait for me,” Macy yawned. “Now that I’ve been here I can pop back later. I’ll meet you here tomorrow, perhaps sometime reasonable?”

As soon as he nodded, she immediately stepped between worlds, falling back into her Minccino form, and collapsing into her nest, wrapping her tail around herself.

Hidori woke up, glanced at her thoroughly unconscious partner, decided it could wait until morning, and went back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may notice, at this point, that Macy is completely immune to surprises. She has ended up in Dungeons with far too high a Mysteriousity level to have any problems with this. As well as having fought several Legendaries, including a pair of Ho-Oh.  
> Michael's just... the person who completely finished all that the game had to offer, and is now looking for something else. He may have bitten off more than he can chew in helping Macy, however.  
> And Hidori is similarly immune to surprises. It comes from knowing Macy.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's morning, and the world keeps turning. Macey and Katt are both preparing for their own destinies.
> 
>  
> 
> ...Hoenn isn't going to know what hit it.

It wasn’t Macy’s first time crashing at the base in Paradise when she wasn’t in Nimbasa and couldn’t be bothered to track down a place to stay. Far too many camping trips she got lost on, because while she could navigate a dungeon or town perfectly, her sense of direction in normal wilderness was a bit skewed.

Part of it was her expecting Dungeon Rules to apply to places where they obviously didn’t, which was a sign that maybe she spent a bit too much time in Post Town. But she didn’t care, because she’d always find her way out eventually.

“So, what was it this time?” Hidori asked, already using her flames to cook breakfast. “Got lost searching for grottoes? Camping trip gone wrong?”

“Couldn’t be bothered to stay awake for the fifteen minutes it would take to get a place for the night,” She yawned, stretching out her tail behind her.

“I’m scared to ask,” The Torchic sighed and hooked a roast apple on her claws, before throwing it over.

Macy grinned. The food available in the Pokemon world was relatively simple compared to the things she ate in Unova, but she liked that. It was healthier, too, no matter what the people advertising their wares on Join Avenue said about it.

“Thanks. I’m sorry I can’t stick around for work today, but I have prior commitments. I’ll make sure to be here to welcome back Victini when V-Wave season starts again, though.” That was… two or three weeks from then? It was hard to remember, given that V-Wave season only happened for eight months every three years or so.

For whatever reason, both times V-Wave season arrived in Paradise, Victini had landed on the exact same spot. Macy was willing to bet he’d be back this year, too.

* * *

  
  


Katt walked through the Pokemart, her eyes darting over the shelf. These letters were easier to decipher than Footprint Runes were, purely because of how direct the translations were. As it turned out, making a system of writing for a community where everyone spoke their own language was rather difficult.

She wasn’t entirely sure at what point letters had become part of Pokemon society, especially given that runes were still used for official business. And even when letters were used, they never used the same words and meanings as when humans did.

The only similarity between the two uses of letters were the fact that they both looked like Unown. Which meant that Katt technically knew three written languages and two spoken ones. Figuring out which one she was using was important.

**“I had no idea there were so many types of Pokeballs,”** Chip commented.  **“Is there much of a difference between them?”**

Katt shrugged.  **“I think most of them are specialty types. I mean, this one apparently works best on… Nidoran, Igglybuff, Cleffa, Skitty, and Munna, along with their evolutions. And nothing else.”** She picked up a package of Moon Balls, noting the high price. Likely, they were originally made so some collector could go get himself a Clefairy or something.

Not that it really mattered to her. She could just get the regular package of ten normal balls and a Premier Ball, just like every other starting Trainer out there. She didn’t have the money to spend on special balls she’d likely never use.

...Well, maybe Dusk Balls would be useful if she went to Alola, given that everyone there was strictly nocturnal, but she lived in Hoenn, and refused to leave until she saw all the cool places that the magazines talked about.

**“Normal starting pack it is, then,”** She decided, taking one of the aforementioned packs off of the shelf.  **“Unless you have any preferences, Chip?”**

**“No, I’m… I’m fine with whatever.”** She nodded and went up to pay for the Pokeballs. Which was good, because she was pretty sure at least one other shopper was giving her weird looks.

Right. She needed to remember not to speak Pokemon in public. Or at least not loud enough that everyone could hear. But it didn’t really matter here in Oldale, since she’d be gone a week later, and didn’t intend on ever coming back.

 

* * *

  
  


**“You’re becoming a Trainer? Really?”** The Taillow on the windowsill looked at Katt, and then at Chip.  **“I’m not sure how I can see this working out.”**

**“Anyone with Berry Pots and a Wailmer Pail can easily support themselves and a small number of Pokemon,”** Katt replied. Which she’d actually looked up beforehand.

Honestly, this journey was probably going to be the most fun she’d ever had, if only because there wasn’t any actual danger involved. So long as they didn’t offend any ancient tribes of Aerodactyl or something, which she considered a very real possibility.

**“Well, it’s not my feathers that are at risk,”** The bird laughed, and Katt considered throwing a Poffin at him, if not for the fact that that would be wasting food. And if there was anything that being a fugitive living under Dungeon Rules for months would teach you, it was that wasting food was a terrible idea.

So there were no Mystery Dungeons in the area. Her point still stood.

“Katalina! It’s time to go!” Oh. Right.

**“Going? Where?”** The Taillow asked.

**“Littleroot Town. Need to file some paperwork,”** Katt responded. No, it wasn’t the journey ahead of her that scared her at all. Or even this. She’d filed paperwork before, to apply to make a Rescue Team, which was little more than a name and signatures, and for passes to access Friend Areas, which was a bit more intensive.

No, what she was worried about was the people she’d inevitably end up running into. The ones who she’d accidentally use Pokemon speak in front of, because it was practically her first language, and who would ask questions. She didn’t want to be anything special. Not anymore.

Because special meant that you were meant to do something. That there was really only a singular purpose, whether studying or fighting or saving the world.

She’d already been through all that once before. She didn’t think she wanted to try it again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not that Macey's sense of direction is bad. It's just that her way of finding places is... highly unconventional. And time-consuming, though the longer the path, the faster she gets places. There's a very good reason she always took the subway.  
> Katt still has issues. That isn't going away.  
> Getting a Trainer Card isn't that much more intensive than forming a Rescue Team. There are very low standards to form a Rescue Team.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Macy and Michael manage to stop being lost in Petalburg Woods, but not without sacrifices. And they're not the only ones taking large steps today.  
> The peak of Mount Freeze is where big things happen. They always have, and they always will. Today is no exception.

It was the fourth day of their forced encampment in the Mount Freeze midpoint that Sandra sat up. “It’s time for us to go.”

Charlie glanced out the cave. It was true, the weather seemed to have died down a bit. “Is this really the best we’ll be getting for a while?”

“No, it’s that if we don’t get there by sunset, we miss Ninetales until summer. She’s apparently leaving on business, and we don’t get what we want.”

“I SEEM TO HAVE FORGOTTEN WHAT THAT IS, BZZZ-BZZZ-BZZZ!” MK-081 chimed in, their voice reverberating through the cave in a way that reminded Charlie why they were normally sent on forest missions. “OR MAYBE WE WERE NEVER TOLD, BZZ-ZZT!”

Gengar glanced away. “I just have to talk to her about something. It’s not that important, but I’ve been putting it off a bit too long.”

“How long?” Charlie asked, curious. Gengar didn’t answer, simply walking back out into the Dungeon. “Hey, wait up!”

The sad thing was, he wasn’t even the worst client they’d ever had.

* * *

  
  


**“I think we’re nearing the exit!”** Michael’s Jolteon barked. His Trainer grinned.

“Thanks, Voltsy. Not sure how long it would have taken without you… maybe we should have bought those maps…”

Macy sighed. “I get it. I messed up. At least we had food.”

**“Half of everything was charred!”** Voltsy complained.

“My only friend who can cook and won’t charge me for it is a Torchic, what did you expect?” She shot back. “Really, when we’re in Rustboro, I’ll pay for lunch if you want.”

“...What kind of lunch?” Michael asked. Macy reminded herself that, once upon a time, the two had been the same species.

“I will pay for a full-course Kalosian meal if it gets this to stop. Even if you’re one of the richest people in Orre. Which you probably are. You have Legendaries.”

“All I did was defeat a criminal organization that specialized in brainwashing Pokemon into killer machines and dropped a ship in the desert by stealing all their Pokemon.”

**“And I still can’t believe we can say that in full context.”** That settled it. One day, she really needed to look up some old Orrean news reports. This sounded far too interesting to ignore.

In the meantime, she would silently mourn her weekly budget.

 

* * *

 

They got to the peak of the mountain in time. Of course they did. They’d focused on nothing but clearing the Dungeon, especially since Gengar had stopped talking after entering the second section. Still not the worst client they’d ever had, not by a long shot, but none of the others could find something to talk about, either, and it just wasn’t as fun as the first part had been.

Not that Charlie needed a job to be fun. It was just another job after all, just another Pokemon to help and be done with it.

Katt had made jobs fun. Early on in their adventures, she just wouldn’t shut up about anything. The chattering died down at about the same time they were forced to go on the run, but she was still the optimist, the one that always came up with things to distract them from the fact that the fate of the world rested on a Skitty, Charmander, Magnemite, Absol, and Smeargle.

As it was, they had succeeded, at the cost of… well… this. Walking someone who’d caused them no end of trouble up a frozen mountain, when he was the reason they even knew how to get there.

“I’m surprised to see you here.” They heard Ninetales before they saw her- not a surprise, as while she wasn’t one of the blue-and-white Ninetales that lived on Snowy Continent, her pelt still blended in rather well. “But I suppose that expectations never did stop your kind, did they, Garret?”

“Not my kind,” Gengar responded. “And it’s Artemis who was the unpredictable one. I just stayed behind to pick up all the pieces.”

“But could she keep a Mega Pokemon from madness?” The vulpine Pokemon was now fully visible against the snow, the brown on her tail tips standing out enough to make her noticeable.

“...Maybe? She never even knew Mega Evolution was a thing, as far as I know.”

“Do you know what they’re talking about?” Charlie asked Sandra. The Dark Type always seemed to know what was going on, from her powers as much as anything else.

“It appears that the two of them have a history. And given that I’ve heard the name Artemis whispered in the legends of my old tribe… well, I can make a fair guess.”

“And I suppose that there’s no way to tell anymore. On to business… what are you doing here, Garret? I can only assume it’s about- how much do they know?”

Gengar was decidedly not looking at anyone now. “Only anything you told them. And yeah, that. Can you fix it?”

“You will have to be more specific than that,” The elder Fire Type said with a grin. “And it would be more beneficial for you to tell them the full truth. Not that I would ever dream of taking that choice away from you.”

“So says the kitsune.” The Ghost Type’s reply was automatic. “But that does give me an idea.” He said nothing, at least not that Charlie could hear, before Ninetales laughed.

“Giving your request telepathically… I will admit, I did not expect that, either. Perhaps I am losing my touch. Very well. I will be honest with you. There is no guarantee. Unless you know a Jirachi somewhere, but I imagine things would be very different if that were the case.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

“If you say so. Now, there are several options available to you. However, I have business on other continents right now that cannot be delayed any longer, and my presence would be required for a number of them. Had I forewarning, this could have turned out differently, but with the recent disasters, my powers have been necessary for something else.”

“SANDRA SAID WE COULD GET WHAT WE WANTED BY ARRIVING TODAY, BZZ-ZZT!”

“I never said there were no options.” From seemingly nowhere, Ninetales produced two small stones. “I have been keeping them on hand for the past eight-hundred years. Now, I return them to you. Go to the place it all began, and perhaps you shall find something.” Charlie got the feeling he knew what Sandra had guessed at- and was starting to believe it himself. “I will be leaving now, but if you need to find me again, I will return in midsummer.” With that, she strolled off, likely not even caring about the possible repercussions.

Well, she was a kitsune…

“Of course she dropped the time,” Gengar muttered. “It’s not like I broke out my Psychic abilities for the purpose of not mentioning that out loud or anything.”

“You expected a Ninetales not to be tricky with you?” Sandra asked. “And what are those stones, anyway?”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s not like I can use them right now, unless you’ve got a piece of Absolite you’re not telling us about. Let’s head back.”

Charlie wanted to confront him on what had just happened, his suspicions, and question why exactly the most antagonistic Pokemon in the Square was suddenly being cryptic and not terrible, but at this point his den on Mount Cleft was very appealing to him.

So he just held up his badge and transported all of them back to the entrance to the Pokemon Square area. Right in front of the base. They had the best location, when not dealing with foot traffic.

Honestly, he was kind of sad to see the job done. Gengar hadn’t been the most agreeable client, but the four of them had worked well together. And he couldn’t bring himself to hate him, either.

“So, that’s it, right? You got what you went there for?” The other nodded.

“Sort of. It’s not perfect, but… I’ll contact you if I need help with anything else. Here’s the reward.” A Heat Armlet, Kindle Scarf, and Flame Bangle. Charlie had no idea where the Ghost had gotten them from, but he wasn’t complaining. Mostly.

“This is oddly generous for you, Gengar,” He commented.

“This job was important for me. And it’s Garret. If there’s a chance of being around others who know it, might as well use it.” The other Pokemon turned to leave without another word- at least, not that Sandra and MK-081 could hear.

Charlie knew better. Because he could hear his former client’s voice in his head, clearly.

_ (Just consider it my way of apologizing.) _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Charlie did just get three top-tier Exclusive Items as a job reward. No, I don't know where Garret got them from. It just happened.  
> Alolan varients exist in the Pokemon World, but they're a rather reclusive bunch. We're unlikely to see any of them- well, with the exception of Rayla and the like, but they don't count.  
> Of course Garret has Psychic abilities. If he can power up the Teleport Gem, he can do all that other stuff, though he generally doesn't. He's rather out of practice.  
> Ninetales is a troll. Because she's a kitsune, and they do that. But at least she's not a malicious troll.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katt sets out to go on a Pokemon journey. She's not the only one doing important things, but today, all that matters to her is getting away from Oldale. To the point of planning maybe a bit more than she should.  
> Meanwhile, Macy and Michael do things in the background.

The day Katt and Chip set out on their journey was rainy. Not just a light Drizzle created by the occasional passing Pelipper, but a torrential downpour that left the streets of Oldale Town half-flooded. No sign of lightning, which meant either the presence of a Pokemon with Lightningrod somewhere in the distance- not unbelievable, given the eastern route- or that Kyogre was having a snit again.

“Are you sure you can’t wait another day?” Katt’s mother asked.

On any other day she would have agreed. Because there was very little that could never be put off for an extra day. But this whole week she had been waiting for the chance to get out of that little house, that may have held meaning to her as a child but didn’t matter now, and had become stifling.

“I’m sure,” She replied. “What kind of adventurer would I be if I let a little rain stop me?”

With that, she put on her new jacket, purple with attachments on the hood that looked like Delcatty ears. Seeing it in the shop, she just couldn’t resist, even if it was for a form that she had never actually attained.

Chip said it made her look weird when she talked… well, more than usual, anyway. She didn’t see a problem with that. It wasn’t like she ever expected to be an ordinary person.

“You have everything you need, right?” PokeNav, Pokeballs, berry-growing kit, tent, sleeping bags, extra clothes, and a box of matches. Honestly, she could have gotten by with less.

Had, before, but that was when she’d had the benefit of fur. Not all of the survival skills she’d learned before were currently applicable, even without factoring in that this was a world untouched by the Mystery Dungeons. A sudden change in body shape would do that to you.

“Of course I do! Wouldn’t be leaving without it!” Especially as she had little inclination to ever return to Oldale when there was an entire world out there.

Katt pulled on her hood, slung her bag over her shoulder, and walked out the front door, never looking back.

* * *

  
  


When the rain completely disappeared less than an hour later, it confirmed three things for Katt. Firstly, the storm was artificial, or the sun was. Second, Hoenn was very much the weather capital of the world that everyone said it was.

Third, she really hated Hoenn weather. Weather was always at the whims of the Pokemon to begin with, but Hoenn was the natural habitat of all the well-known weather manipulators except for Poliwag.

And she’d thought the brutal sunlight deep beneath the earth was bad. At least Groudon were extremely rare. Flocks of Pelipper were everywhere, the desert was caused as much by Torkoal as it was proximity to Mount Chimney, and nobody had a clue how Mount Pyre still remained shrouded in fog.

And that didn’t even factor in the meteorological hellscape known only as the Weather Institute. Castform were considered to be the worst opponents in a fight for a reason, causing heat stroke one day and frostbite the next.

And, as a travelling Pokemon Trainer, Katt would be going through all of them.

She couldn’t wait.

**“You can come out now,”** She stated. To most, it would sound like she was talking to herself… or meowing, as the case may be. But the message reached its intended recipient, and the Pokeball on her belt burst open as the Poochyena inside took the chance to stretch his paws.

**“Finally! That storm lasted forever!”** He glanced up at his Trainer.  **“So, where to first?”**

Katt grinned. She had spent hours pouring over the map of Hoenn until she found what she thought was the perfect route to explore the region.

**“Well, first we’re heading through Petalburg Woods to Rustboro, and Meteor Falls. We’ll go from Fallarbor to Route 111, Mount Chimney, and Lavaridge Town. From there we’ll head to Mauville before taking the trek to Fortree, stopping by Mount Pyre and the Safari Zone on the way to Lilycove. After that we’ll start travelling by boat, beginning with visiting Mossdeep and the Shoal Cave. We’ll go from there to Sootopolis to the Sky Pillar to Pacifidlog to Slateport to Dewford, before leaving the region entirely.”**

**“...How much sleep did you get last night?”** Chip asked. She sighed.

**“Five hours, give or take a bit. Don’t worry: I’m a Nonsleeper.”**

**“I don’t know what that means, but it can’t be healthy.”**

**“To be honest? I’m not entirely sure either. I should be fine so long as I get rest sometime this week.”** And they thought her tendency to gorge herself on Gummis was wasting valuable resources. She could walk for days!

**“Yeah, I’m… I’ll just take your word for it. Planning on taking off that hood anytime soon?”**

**“Why would I do that?”**

**“Heat stroke.”**

**“...Eh, I’ve had worse.”** Admittedly due to fur, lava, Moltres, and Groudon, but that was besides the point. Besides, it really wasn’t that hot out. Had it been summer, it’d likely be a different story, but if all went well, they’d be far away from Hoenn by then.

At the moment, all she cared about was the fact that she was on the road again after far too long. And that was all she really needed.

* * *

  
  
  
  


_ PayDay: Should I be surprised it turns out one of us is an Orrean celebrity? _

_ Megashroom: I’m just surprised she wasn’t joking. _

_ PayDay: When was the last time you knew Minccino to joke about anything? _

_ Acornhat: I’d say four months or so ago, but I’m not online as often, so I can’t be sure. _

_ Psychosurfer: My biggest question is how she managed to avoid making the international news before now. _

_ Megashroom: She’s apparently trying for a business degree in-between running what is basically a small city by this point. She likely just didn’t have the time. _

_ Baconblaze: Okay, I’m going to be gone for a bit on a camping trip to one of those places with weird magnetic fields, could one of you record the media coverage of this thing please? I get the feeling we’ll all want to watch this. _

_ Psychosurfer: Right, may as well. I’ve seen some of Eevee’s earlier interviews, so I know it’ll be great. _

_ Acornhat: Should I be concerned that this is the first time any of us become relevant due to our circumstances? _

_ PayDay: I think the time for that ended long ago. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Katt wanted to evolve for a while. Given the general lack of Moon Stones in the Dungeons she frequented, however, it wasn't something that ever happened.  
> Macy and Michael didn't outright state that they were Pokemon on live television, but when you say you're going to sue a company for almost causing a meteor to destroy your part-time planet, and show up on tv to do just that, people tend to put two and two together.


End file.
